Inhaltsangabe

The Underworld rules the city of Veldaren. Thieves, smugglers, assassins...they fear only one man.

Thren Felhorn is the greatest assassin of his time. All the thieves' guilds of the city are under his unflinching control. If he has his way, death will soon spill out from the shadows and into the streets.

Aaron is Thren's son, trained to be heir to his father's criminal empire. He's cold, ruthless - everything an assassin should be. But when Aaron risks his life to protect a priest's daughter from his own guild, he glimpses a world beyond poison, daggers and the iron rule of his father.

Assassin or protector; every choice has its consequences.

Fantasy author David Dalglish spins a tale of retribution and darkness, and an underworld reaching for ultimate power.

I understand that thieves and assassins are very bad people. But I am used that fantasy stories muffle this picture and add a moral frame. With this the reader still can sympathize with the thieve without having an interest in torture or killing innocent people for money. For example the rule no women and children and no act against non-principles I find always comforting. But in this story the protagonists don’t make it easy to like them. Not because they are badly written or unbelievable. On the contrary I find many characters extremely charismatic, intelligent, skilled and recognizable (except for the weird names), but they are beyond cruel. In this fight between Thieves and Nobleman both sides fight to win ignoring any honour or conscious. The few moral characters are forced to participate and keep losing them slowly but steadily. A side from the characters I found the mix out of combat (strategic/ tactical as well as duell scenes), politics (deceives and other manuverings) and a hint of magic (e.g. mighty Paladins) very interesting.